Monday June 11th, 2012. I got to go to the preview for Cars Land, the new land they just completed at Disney California Adventure that opens this Friday June 15th, 2012. This is the latest of a great many updates Disney has done to revitalize and expand the DCA park. My one sentence review would be simply this. Mission Accomplished!

But that would be a totally boring review.

I do need to warn you. This is a rather long one and may contain spoilers, such as they are. However, at the end of the day, I would rather give you guys as much detail as I can than not enough. So here we go.
I have to say I was very heavily impressed at the level of detail they achieved. It is literally like you walked into the town of Radiator Springs. They apparently brought in Imagineers from all around the world, from all the parks to work on this one. They have pulled off nothing short of a masterpiece with this one. It is nice to see that even decades after Walt’s passing, the Imagineers still care and that the company Walt Disney built is still committed to bringing their “A Game”. Despite some stumbles along the way.

They have outdone themselves with this new land. As you go through the stone arch and into the valley of Radiator Springs you are greeted by the lofty spires of Cadillac Ridge. Ok , this is where I have to admit to my periodic denseness. At first I didn’t get it. I thought “Cadillac Ridge” ok its Cars Land, of course they would name it that. Then one of the people we were there with pointed out the shapes of the formations jutting out of the tops of the ridge. Doh! Ok I get it now. It just adds still more to the level or creativity of this new land.

This week, I was very lucky to be invited to the Disney California Adventure: Cars Land Passholder’s Preview event after my friend and co-worker Amy Katscher won tickets for it.
This article is a bit of a prelude to my review of the new land.
Before I go into my more detailed review of the new land a bit of history for those of you not really familiar with the second Disney park in California.

Most of the people I know who have been to  Disney California Adventure often refer to it as “California lite for Californians,” instead of what it was really supposed to be which was essentially the west coast version of Disney’s Hollywood Backlot from the Florida resorts. There are a lot of elements brought over including some of the attractions.

I, for one, was thrilled when they brought over Muppet Vision 3D. I have never been to the Florida parks but had heard about Muppet Vision. Being a major fan of the Muppets I was delighted. But the rest of the park was largely ho-hum.

The “Back Lot” area wasn’t that great. Sure it had Muppet Vision and an Animation pavilion but not much else. Adding Tower of Terror helped but overall it was still very meh. (I know its not a real word but it is how it felt.) It was pretty-ish. It had some good parts but the magic just wasn’t there.

They had a Bugs Life area that was essentially nothing but kiddy rides but it did have a giant Hopper character and the Bugs Life “It’s Tough To Be a Bug”. 3D movie show with several immersive elements. A  lot like “Honey I Shrunk The Audience” but with a Bugs Life Theme.

The Midway/Boardwalk area where the California Screamin’ coaster and giant Ferris Wheel is were pretty cool as was the water rapids ride.  There were a lot of Boardwalk style rides and games.

Unfortunately, there weren’t any real major outstanding “THIS IS IT” moments or attractions and several of the attractions went away after only a couple of years. I am specifically thinking of the Maliboomer which was one of the few rides I REALLY enjoyed.
But, for California natives there wasn’t really anything that screamed “Hey Cali Disney still cares about you as much as Florida.” For a park who gets most of its business from locals, that’s not a good thing.

Then a couple of years ago it seemed like Disney was finally taking the hint and started putting some serious attention into the park and started revamping large parts of it. World of Color was launched a little over a year ago. And they started construction of an entirely new land. They also completely redesigned the main entrance area with new gates and entry zone they are calling “Buena Vista Street.  The “Grand Reopening” is June 15th 2012 and coincides with the official opening of Cars Land.  Let’s hope they keep with the inertia they have built and turn DCA into what it really has the potential to be.

Before anyone tells me about the historical details I missed or that I am crazy for feeling the way I do. Keep in mind, this article is to give a little back story to my review of Cars land. I know I am not giving ALL the details. It is to give the idea and to help explain my mindset and perceptions. I have never hated DCA. I was just never really into it.

Now, on to the review. (next post).

-DP

The press for the event read “A DREAM COME TRUE EXPERIENCE FOR VIDEO GAME FANS & MUSIC LOVERS: NINTENDO’S “THE LEGEND OF ZELDA: SYMPHONY OF THE GODDESSES” TOUR PLAYS THE GREEK THEATRE, LA”

And it pretty much lived up to it. Last night I was able to attend the concert at the Greek.

The music is based on one of the most popular and beloved video game series of all time,
The press for it continues, “The name “Symphony of the Goddesses” refers not only to the concert program but also to the new four-movement symphony recounting the classic storylines from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time™, The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker™, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess™, and The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past™. The concert also will highlight orchestral renditions of music from other series games, including The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening™ and The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask™. ”

Given the subject matter one would expect the audience to be filled with cosplayers and your stereo typical gamer nerds. I was actually surprised at how few cosplayers there were.  As for the gamer nerds, you would be surprised at how well gamer nerds clean up when we want to. There were a lot of industry people present as well. Faces I recognize even if I can’t remember their names. Folks from Blizzard, Nintendo (would have been more surprised if they weren’t there), as well as various gaming press. Given that E3 is going on across town at the LACC, its to be expected.

But enough about that. Read on for a review of the performance itself.

Well, since we are getting ready to launch the [name redacted to protect the innocent and the guilty] podcast here in a couple of weeks I suppose I should start doing posts so that those of you who don’t know me can get to know me.

I am not really sure where to start since I am kinda new to blogging that isn’t a rant about one thing or another.
I suppose I should start with a simple Introduction.

HI! My name is Michael aka DP. I have been actively involved in fandom in one form or another since 1990. I have been a fan since my childhood in the ’70s. Yes, I am old…ish.

Most of my activity in fandom was involved with my working two main conventions. First was Confurence, which died and became Califur. I first started that one in 1992. The second one I dedicated most of my heart and soul to was Anime Expo. I started in 1998 and recently resigned my position earlier this year. I wore many hats at AX. Starting in Press and moving to Special Events Tech, to manager of the Main Events room then that while becoming Assistant Division Manager for all of Tech then running the AMV contest and eventually becoming their Director of Entertainment Group. For about a year or so I was also Director of the EX Media Group which ran AX Live as well as a couple of other shows.

While a great amount of my focus for the last 15 years has been Anime and Japanese pop culture, it is far from my only interest. I have long been a big ‘ol Star Wars and Star Trek nerd. While I enjoy Fantasy, Science Fiction is my favorite genre and there are A LOT of titles I love and enjoy.

I am also a bit of a music nerd. Every thing from orchestral soundtracks to Punk Rock to Gothic Industrial to Electronica and DubStep. Hell I even like alot of Rap and Funk.
Then, there is the computer nerdery, with a heavy focus on graphics and video. My degree is in telecommunications with a focus on Television Production.
I am also a bit of a gamer, Video and table top. I really love BattleTech. Unfortunately, so few people still play it.
There are lots of other things I am into. My tastes are somewhat varied. I guess you could say I am a jack of all trades of nerdery.

I am seriously looking forward to this project kicking off and taking shape. I look forward to interacting with all of you and to being allowed to be a fan again. I have spent so long buried in the behind the scenes of the Fandom convention world that I started to lose sight of what it meant to be a fan. Now, I get to be a fan again. I look forward to sharing it with all of you and from learning a bit from all of you as well. There will likely be a bit of adjustment as we get in the flow but I look forward to your input and feedback.

Here’s to the future!
We are all Otaku, of one form or another (or many forms in my case. )
-DP